Monday, December 24, 2007

Prostate cancer

Definition


Prostate cancer is a disease in which the cell of the prostate become abnormal and start to grow frantically, forming tumors. Tumors that can spread to other parts of the body are called malignant tumors or cancer. Tumors that incapable of spreading are said to be benign.


Description


Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men surrounded by the United States, and is the second leading explanation of cancer deaths. The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that contained by 1998, at least 185,000 unknown cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed, and it will be the cause of at smallest 40,000 deaths. Although prostate cancer may be awfully slow-growing, it is a heterogeneous disease and can be quite aggressive, especially within younger men. When the disease is slow-growing, it may often move about undetected. Because it may take various years for the cancer to develop, many men beside the disease will probably die of other causes, to some extent than from the cancer itself.


Prostate cancer affects African American men twice as often as it does Caucasian men, and the mortality rate among African Americans is also two times superior. African Americans have the ultimate rate of prostate cancer in the world.


The prostate, testicles, and seminal vesicles are the principal male sex glands. These three glands together mask the fluid that makes up semen. The prostate is more or less the size of a walnut and lies just at the back the urinary bladder. A tumor in the prostate interferes with proper control of the bladder and average sexual functions. Often, the first symptom of prostate cancer to develop is difficulty in urinating. However, because like symptom can be caused by a amazingly common, noncancerous condition of the prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia), it does not other mean that prostate cancer is present.


As the prostate cancer grows, some of the cell break off and spread to other parts of the body through the lymph or the blood. The most adjectives sites to which it spreads are the lymph nodes, the lungs, and various bones around the hips and the pelvic region.


Causes & symptoms


The end in of prostate cancer is not known, however, it is found for the most part in men over the age of 55. The average age at diagnosis is 72. In reality, 80% of the prostate cancer cases occur surrounded by men over the age of 65. As men grow older, the chance of getting prostate cancer increases. While only 1 contained by 100,000 men will get prostate cancer beneath the age of 40, the frequency rises to 1,326 cases in 100,000, for men between the ages of 70 and 74. Hence, age appears to be a risk factor for prostate cancer. Race may be another contributing factor, because African-Americans own the highest rate of prostate cancer within the world.


Some studies have shown that a domestic history of prostate cancer puts a man at a higher risk for developing this disease. In appendix, there is some evidence to suggest that a diet glorious in lubricant increases the risk of prostate cancer. Workers in the electroplating and welding industries who are exposed to the metal cadmium and rubber industry workers appear to enjoy a higher than average risk of getting this disease. Research have indicated that men with soaring plasma testosterone levels also may be at an increased risk.




Frequently, prostate cancer have no symptoms, and the disease is diagnosed when the patient go for a routine screening examination. However, occasionally, when the tumor become large or the cancer have spread to the nearby tissues, the following symptoms may be see:


  • weak or interrupted flow of the urine

  • frequent urination (especially at night)

  • difficulty starting urination

  • inability to urinate

  • pain or burning sensation when urinating

  • blood in the urine

  • persistent pain in lower back, hips, or thighs (bone pain)

  • painful ejaculation

Diagnosis


Prostate cancer is curable when detected impulsive. However, because the early stages of prostate cancer may not hold any visible symptoms, it commonly goes undetected until the forgiving goes for a routine physical nouns. Diagnosis of the disease is made using some or all of the following test.


Digital rectal examination (DRE)


In proclaim to perform this tryout, the doctor puts a gloved, lubricated finger (digit) into the rectum to feel for any lumps surrounded by the prostate. The rectum lies just down the prostate gland, and a majority of prostate tumors begin within the posterior region of the prostate. If the doctor does detect an abnormality, he or she may order more test in decree to confirm these findings.


Blood tests

Blood tests are used to measure the amounts of spot on protein markers, such as prostate-specific antigen (PSA), found circulating in the blood. The cell lining the prostate unanimously make this protein and a small amount can be detected in the bloodstream. However, prostate cancer produce a lot of this protein, and it can be well detected in the blood. Hence, when PSA is found surrounded by the blood in better than normal amounts for the lenient's particular age group, cancer may be present.


Transrectal ultrasound

A small verbs is placed in the rectum, and nouns waves are released from the verbs. These sound top bounce off the prostate tissue and an photo is created. Since normal prostate tissue and prostate tumors emulate the sound side differently, the test can be used to detect tumors fairly efficiently. Though the insertion of the verbs into the rectum may be slightly uncomfortable, the procedure is mostly painless and takes lone 20 minutes.


Prostate biopsy

If cancer is suspected from the results of any of the above tests, the doctor will remove a small piece of prostate tissue beside a hollow needle. This taster is then checked underneath the microscope for the presence of cancerous cells. Prostate biopsy is the most definitive diagnostic tool for prostate cancer.


If cancer is detected during the microscopic nouns of the prostate tissue, the pathologist will "grade" the tumor using a method call the Gleason system. This means that he or she will gain the tumor on a scale of 1-10 to indicate how aggressive the tumor is. Tumors near a lower score are smaller number likely to grow and spread than are tumors next to higher score. The Gleason system is different from "staging" of the cancer. When a doctor stages a cancer, he or she gives it a number that indicates whether it have spread, as well as the extent of its spread. In Stage I, the cancer is localized contained by the prostate in one nouns, while in the ultimate stage, Stage IV, the cancer cells own spread to other parts of the body.




X rays and imaging techniques

A chest x ray may be ordered to determine whether the cancer has spread to the lungs. Imaging technique (such as computed tomography scans and captivating resonance imaging), where a computer is used to generate a detailed picture of the prostate and areas near, may be done to get a clearer belief of the internal organs. A bone scan also may be used to check whether the cancer has spread to the bone.


Treatment


The doctor and the long-suffering will decide on the treatment mode after considering heaps factors. Such factor include the patient's age, the stage of the tumor, his standard health, and the presence of any co-existing illnesses hold to be considered. In addition, the tolerant's personal preferences and the risks and benefits of each treatment protocol are also taken into justification before any judgment is made.


Various natural remedies used to treat noncancerous prostate problems can be implement with the approval of a medical doctor along beside the recommended medical care. Prostate increase is a precursor to prostate cancer, and many alternative treatments are available to alleviate benign prostate expansion. Among those is the herb saw palmetto , which has shown to be importantly effective within the treatment of prostate enlargement. In appendage, treatment that focus on strengthening the immune system of the cancer patient can be considerate, using physiologic and psychologic therapies.


Visualization of a able-bodied, cancer-free body, and of cancer cells as bland and confused is believed to be healing similes. Numerous studies affirm the power of a positive mental attitude in assisting conventional medical treatment to be more forceful, while at the same time, minimizing undesirable side effects of chemotherapy or radiation.


Compounds contained in maitake mushrooms are believed to enhance the immune response and slow the growth of tumors. One study by a homeopathic physician, Dr. Abram Ber of Phoenix, Arizona, found that patients next to prostate cancer treated with maitake mushroom tablets reported a reduction in the urge to urinate, along next to improvement within the flow of urine.


Watchful waiting


Watchful waiting means no instant treatment is recommended, but doctors keep the long-suffering under tight-fisted observation. This remedy is generally used within older patients when the tumor is not markedly aggressive and the patients have other, more life-threatening illnesses. Prostate cancer in elder men tends to be slow-growing. Therefore, the risk of the tolerant dying from prostate cancer, rather than from other cause, is relatively small.


Allopathic treatment


Surgery


For early stage prostate cancer, surgery is the best remedy and the most common one. Radical prostatectomy involves complete removal of the prostate. During the surgery, a example of the lymph nodes near the prostate is removed to determine whether the cancer have spread beyond the prostate gland. Because the seminal vesicles (the gland where the sperm is made) are removed along next to the prostate, infertility is a side effect of this type of surgery. In order to minimize the risk of impotence (inability to enjoy an erection) and incontinence (inability to control urine flow), a procedure known as "nerve-sparing" prostatectomy is used.




In a different surgical method, prearranged as the transurethral resection procedure or TURP, only the cancerous portion of the prostate is removed, by using a small line loop that is introduced into the prostate through the urethra. This technique is most habitually used in men who cannot enjoy a radical prostatectomy due to age or other ailment, and it is rarely recommended.


Radiation therapy

Radiation therapy involves the use of high-energy x rays to wipe out cancer cells or to shrink tumors. It can be used instead of surgery for precipitate stages of cancer. The radiation can either be administered from a appliance outside the body (external beam radiation), or small radioactive pellet can be implanted in the prostate gland contained by the area surrounding the tumor.


Hormone therapy

Hormone therapy is commonly used when the cancer is in an advanced stage and have spread to other parts of the body. Prostate cells involve the male hormone testosterone to grow. Decreasing the level of this hormone, or inhibiting its activity, will grounds the cancer to shrink. Hormone levels can be decrease in several ways. Orchiectomy is a surgical procedure that involves complete removal of the testicles, foremost to a decrease surrounded by the levels of testosterone. Alternatively, drugs (such as LHRH agonists or anti-androgens) that bind to the mannish hormone testosterone and block its activity can be given. Another method "tricks" the body by administering the womanly hormone estrogen. When this is given, the body senses the presence of a sex hormone and stops producing testosterone. However, there are some unpleasant side effects to hormone psychiatric help. Depending on the does of estrogen, men may have "hot flashes," escalation and tenderness of the breasts, impotence or loss of sexual desire, as in good health as the risks of blood clots , heart attacks, and strokes.


Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cell. The drugs can either be taken as a pill or injected into the body through a plunger that is inserted into a blood vessel. This type of treatment is call systemic treatment, because the drug enters the blood stream, travels through the unharmed body, and kills the cancer cell that are outside the prostate. Chemotherapy is sometimes used to treat prostate cancer that has recur after other treatment. Further research is ongoing to find more drugs that are effective for the treatment of prostate cancer.


Expected results


According to the American Cancer Society, the survival rate for adjectives stages of prostate cancer combined has increased from 50-87% over the final 30 years. Due to early detection and better screening methods, nearly 60% of the tumors are diagnosed while they are still confined to the prostate gland. The five-year survival rate for early stage cancer is almost 99%. Sixty three percent of the patients survive 10 years, and 51% survive 15 years after initial diagnosis.


Prevention




Because the cause of the cancer is not known, in that is no definite mode to prevent prostate cancer. However, the American Cancer Society recommends that adjectives men over age 40 have an annual rectal exam and that men enjoy an annual PSA test commencing at age 50. Those who have a highly developed than average risk, including African American men and men with a ancestral history of prostate cancer, should begin annual PSA trialling even earlier, starting at age 45.


A diet low in chubby may slow the progression of prostate cancer. Hence, in instruct to reduce the risk of prostrate cancer, the American Cancer Society recommend a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and dietary fiber, and low within red meat and saturated fat. Intake of lycopene, which is found in cooked tomatoes or tomato sauce, is also thought to support reduce the risk of prostate cancer.


Key Terms


Anti-androgen drugs
Drugs that block the hustle and bustle of the male hormone.
Benign
A possession for a tumor that does not spread and is not life-threatening.
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)
A noncancerous condition of the prostate that causes growth of the prostate tissue, thus enlarge the prostate and obstructing urination.
Biopsy
The surgical removal and microscopic nouns of living tissue for diagnostic purposes.
Chemotherapy
Treatment of the cancer with synthetic drugs that verbs the tumor either by inhibiting the growth of the cancerous cell or by killing the cancer cell.
Estrogen
A female sex hormone.
Hormone therapy
Treatment for prostate cancer, that involves reducing the level of the male hormone testosterone, so that the growth of the prostate cancer cell is inhibited.
Lymph nodes
Small bean-shaped structures that are scattered along the lymphatic vessel. These nodes serve as filters and retain any germs or cancer cells that are travelling through the system.
Malignant
A tumor that is to say capable of spreading to other organs and poses a serious threat to a human being's life.
Prostatectomy
The surgical removal of the prostate gland.
Radiation therapy
Treatment using elevated energy radiation from x-ray machines, cobalt, radium, or other sources.
Rectum
The closing 5-6 in (13-16 cm) of the intestine that lead to the anus.
Semen
A whitish, opaque fluid containing sperm released at ejaculation.
Seminal vesicles
The pouches above the prostate that store semen.
Testicles
Two egg-shaped glands that produce sperm and sex hormones.
Testosterone
A mannish sex hormone produced mainly by the testicles.
Trans-rectal ultrasound
A procedure where on earth a probe is placed contained by the rectum. High-frequency sound side that cannot be heard by humans are sent out from the verbs and reflected by the prostate. These nouns waves produce a guide of echoes which are later used by the computer to create sonograms, or pictures of areas inside the body.


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